THE MAROON CANDLE

A castle with a dark history and a murderer on the loose make for a wedding to remember in Evanichko’s novel.

Forty-one-year-old Amber Tambon—surgeon, spitfire, and bride-to-be—readies herself for the wedding of her dreams to her much younger fiancé, Xavier. The wedding venue: Mayguard Manor, a “castle poised upon the waters of Lake Superior.” The castle has been shut down for over 50 years after the disturbing and mysterious deaths of its owners, but it’s opened its doors with “a new lease on life.” In the hours leading up to the wedding, things begin to go disastrously wrong: The ferry driver is set ablaze by an unknown hooded figure, the castle’s governor sinks beneath the icy and tumultuous waves of Lake Superior, and the news channels report on a “Pyromaniac Serial Killer” who leaves a single maroon candle at the scene of each grisly crime. As tensions rise between the bride and her estranged parents and plenty of old friends with shameful secrets they intend to take to the grave, a storm rolls in…and then Victoria, assistant to the castle’s governor, finds one maroon candle. With guests and staff alike rapidly disappearing and haunting connections between Amber and Mayguard Manor rising to the surface, getting to the altar becomes the least of Amber’s worries—survival is now the name of the game. Evanichko delivers a fast-paced thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s classic tales of murder and mayhem. The author introduces dozens of characters both fun and frustrating, simple and complex, good and evil. The novel, with its direct prose and sustained momentum, is easy to devour; no word is wasted, and each page begs to be turned. Fans of mysteries, thrillers, and breezy beach reads will delight in the drama that sets this narrative ablaze.

A fast, fun, and fiery mystery-thriller to be consumed in one sitting.